View Article

THE FOUR CRITERIA FOR PERSONAL BELIEF

 D. H. Parsons, PhD

“I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with truth, and as my life consists of nothing but those experiments, it is true that the story will take the shape of an autobiography. But I shall not mind, if every page of it speaks only of my experiments. I believe, or at any rate flatter myself with the belief, that a connected account of all these experiments will not be without benefit to the reader.” Mahatma Gandhi - An Autobiography, The Story Of My Experiments With Truth.

In order to be a participant in many of our world’s religions, these religions require a person must first believe in the tenets of a specific catechism. And at first thought, this may appear to be a good idea, since it would seem logical that it is a good thing to believe in something before adopting it as a lifestyle faith.

However, upon further consideration, this point of view just might be putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. If you look at the lives of every great mystic or every well-known Spiritual Adept, you will find the opposite to be true. It was always their practice of something that brought about their belief. Bear in mind that the word practice is merely another word for “hands on experience.” And when analyzed in the light of pure logic the conclusion would indeed be that one should never place their belief in something that they have not first investigated through hands on experience. How foolish would it be to do otherwise?

And yet, that is exactly what many religions ask of their perspective members, that they automatically believe certain doctrines and traditions as a prerequisite before attaining membership in a particular religion.

The serious flaw in this is that none of the doctrines or traditions of these religions can be backed up by credible evidence of their validity. As a result, a person might be adopting doctrines and traditions to their lifestyle that go against the true Divine Order of whom and what they were designed to be. The result of practicing doctrines of an unsubstantiated nature can not only bring chaos to one’s life, it can also encourage the growth of disease, poverty, and emotional distress.

One must understand from the very beginning that the Spiritual Path is not really about believing at all. It is about experiencing. A simple look at history would prove this to be the case. Many people have believed in many things throughout the highly variable histories of the hundreds of diverse cultures this planet has produced. But if we were to look back at those beliefs through our contemporary eyes, we would find many of them to be foolish at best, and others to be destructive at worst. They were destructive because, instead of flowing with the Divine Order for the universe, they completely ignored the Divine Order, and in some cases, they invented their own Divine Order. We have only to mention Nazi Germany, the Spanish Inquisition and the Witch Burnings, to substantiate the validity of this concern.

Bottom Line: It should be common logic that before anyone chooses to adopt any practice that could conceivably have deep and permanent effects on their present life and, perhaps, their life/lives to come, they should thoroughly investigate and experience whatever practice it is they are adopting. The practice should be tried out and tested for Truth before a decision is made which might regrettably have serious and everlasting consequences.

If we are to be totally honest, we must admit that it is not so much the influence of Truth that fills the pews of our contemporary churches, it is emotion. Because it is a fact that so much of what is taught in churches today cannot be proven as Truth. Most of what is passed off as “Gospel Truth” is nothing more than conjecture at best, and some is outright fabrication. Unfortunately, on a superficial level, the most common reaction to unproven Truth usually manifests in the form of substitutionary emotion. And, yes, a certain amount of emotion can be helpful and even healthy to the human psyche, but an overly displayed emotional response to an unproven system of religious belief can be a very dangerous thing. One has only to consider the radical fundamentalism of any religion to witness the damage it can do to an entire culture. At the very least, emotion without substance slows the Spiritual growth process of those who place too much emphasis upon it.

The Bliss-Parsons Institute is not a religion. Metaphysics is not a religion. Both are more closely related to the sciences. And as any other science utilizes what is called the “Scientific Method” in order to weed out fact from fiction, any study of Higher Awareness must do the same. If not, the end result will be a form of superficial “New Age Fluff,” much of which is overflowing the popular Spiritual market today.

For these reasons the Bliss-Parsons Institute has designed a metaphysical form of the Scientific Method that can be applied to any theory, fact, or supposed Truth, in order to test for validity of belief. This Method can also be applied to books, seminars, workshops, philosophies, churches, schools, etc. before deciding to purchase or participate in any of the above.

The BPI Metaphysical Method is simple. Before anything is to be believed in as a Truth or as a doctrine of any type, it must first meet the following four criteria:

1. It must fit in with the known higher laws and principles of the Universe. There are several of these laws (i.e. the Hermetic Laws) and they will all be covered within the scope of future BPI Journal articles.

2. It must be credible. It must not be mere hearsay and it must have some foundation in the realms of historical or scientific possibility. (And yes it may be true that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, and that many things are being discovered that seem to defy what once before seemed impossible, but a certain amount of common sense must be used in these matters in order to eliminate a multitude of what can only be termed ridiculous notions.)

3. A person must be able to experiment with it and experience it for him or herself. If not, what good is it?

4. A person must be able to replicate its results. It must work for you at least most of the time. If it’s just a fluke or coincidence, again, what good is it?

If something meets these four criteria it is deemed worthy of being called believable.

The quote used at the beginning of this lesson is from the book entitled, Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story Of My Experiments With Truth. And although the book is, indeed, Gandhi’s Autobiography, it is also much more. It is a Metaphysical journal relating Gandhi’s scientific experiments with life. In the scope of the book, Gandhi, reveals his innermost convictions on such matters as ethics, politics, vegetarianism, and non-violence. But he gives us far more than his opinion on these matters. He analyzes each area as if he was viewing it through a microscope and he allows us to be a part of his analysis. As the reader reads, he or she is able to experience and observe Gandhi’s experiments as if they were in his presence.

The Gandhi Autobiography gives us a good example of how the Metaphysical process of separating fact from fiction is done, and clearly demonstrates the common sense thought process necessary to arrive at conclusions that will ultimately influence everything we are.

But you do not have to read Gandhi’s book in order to learn this method. The main point to be gleaned from this information is that even the great Mystics used, at the very least, good old common sense, as well as, a logical form of deductive reasoning when it came to placing their faith in something that would no doubt very drastically effect their lives, and the lives of millions who would one day be their disciples.

This is so important. No one should blindly accept anything when it comes to their Spiritual or Physical wellbeing. If you were to be diagnosed with a terminal illness, would you not seek a second or a third opinion before performing radical procedures on your physical body? Why should your Spiritual health be of less importance? Throughout history there have been countless cult-type religions led by fanatical so-called Spiritual leaders who have been responsible for some of the gravest moments of our cultural memory. The reason behind all of these terrible tragedies is the same: uninformed individuals who blindly accepted doctrines and beliefs without testing them first.

What a person really needs from a “religion” is not a set of arbitrary doctrines that have no basis in fact – doctrines that you are asked to blindly believe and adopt to your lifestyle – BUT A CREDIBLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION THAT REVEALS PRACTICAL METHODS YOU CAN EXPERIENCE FIRSTHAND IN ORDER TO DISCOVER THE DIVINE ORDER FOR YOUR OWN LIFE.

Following is a curricular illustration that will give insight in how to apply the BPI Metaphysical Method of the Four Criteria of Belief. Please follow along as we take the simple example of common “meditation” through the steps of the four criteria.

Everyone would agree that time is precious. And when a person begins a practice of meditation the first consideration is the time factor. It is common knowledge that in order for a practice of meditation to be beneficial one must do the practice on a daily basis. In fact, it is suggested that one must meditate at least 30 minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the evening.

Before you want to put your belief in the benefits of such a time consumptive practice it is only logical to first determine whether that practice will work for you. You should put it through the four criteria by asking the following questions:

1. Does the practice of meditation fit into the known Higher Laws of the universe?

Of course, the answer would be, “Yes.” Meditation can be plugged into at least five of the Hermetic Principles:

Law number 1 - the Law of Mentalism – governs the power of thought and how thoughts produce things. Everything you think becomes something. Everything you think produces something. It has been proven that when a person meditates they produce brain waves of peace and tranquility. These brain waves can be beneficial on several levels.

Law number 2 - the Law of Correspondence – which states, “As above, so below” and speaks to the Microcosm/Macrocosm relationships found within this universe. In the case of meditation we refer to its effects on both the gross physical body (in terms of lowering blood pressure and relieving stress) and to the Higher Spiritual State of Being. Research has shown that if a person is physically unfit, he or she is not as likely to pursue Higher Spiritual Awareness. If the mind is occupied by worries of a physical nature it is not free to apply itself more fully to the Spiritual.

Law number 3 - the Law of Vibration – which states that everything (including thoughts) has a vibratory signature that defines what it is, and the vibratory signatures of all things intermingle with each other and cause influence on each other. Under this law, the vibration released in meditation can not only influence your state of being, but as you come in contact with others, your state of being will be sensed by them.

Law number 5 – the Law of Rhythm - It is a proven fact that meditation effects the natural biorhythms of a human being. It can literally alter your body’s natural rhythm and produce healing effects upon your physical, mental and emotion layers of consciousness.

Law number 7 – the Law of Cause And Effect – which speaks to the interconnectedness of all life. This is where the concept of Karma comes into play. You cannot release any energy in any form without it having an effect upon the universe. The energy produced in the practice of Meditation is one of peace and wellbeing and it should be beneficial to all life.

The only two Hermetic Principles (Laws) meditation does not relate to on an obvious level are number 4, the Law of Polarity, and number 6, the Law of Gender (after time and thought it can probably be shown that even these two laws can be applied).

Given all of the above it is determined that the Practice of Meditation fits the first Criteria For Belief. It is conceivable under the Higher Laws. Now let us look at the other three Criteria:

2. Is the practice of meditation credible?

This is an easy one. Meditation has a proven track record going back centuries. The ancients of every culture on this planet practiced meditation in some form or another. Every great mystic, saint or adept of every known religion or philosophy was a practitioner of his or her own form of meditation. The benefits of meditation have been proven via scientific studies and can be researched in every major medical journal.

3. Can you experiment with meditation and experience the benefits for yourself?

Again, this is an easy one. Anyone can meditate, and there are many forms of meditation to experiment with. All you have to do is find a quiet place and take the time to do it. At the end of your experimentation you may choose the one method that benefits you most, or if you experience no benefit you may choose not to continue meditation.

4. Can you replicate the results?

Remember that if something is a fluke or a coincidence then it is basically worthless to you. This criteria dictates that if you experience peace and tranquility of mind and emotion once during meditation, you ought to be able to experience those things most of the time. If not, then you are wasting your time, and meditation may not be something you want to invest your belief in.

There you have a very simple example of how the BPI Metaphysical Method of the Four Criteria Of Belief can effectively aid you in making decisions regarding everything from books you wish to purchase, to seminars you wish to attend; from churches you are investigating, to major life decisions you might need to make. It is our sincere wish that you would use this model for all of these important decisions, as every decision you make has consequences for your future.

Always remember that just as you really are what you eat, you are also what you believe in. You need to be sure that what you choose to believe in is accurate for the Divine Order of your life and not someone else’s life. Everything you do should be tailor-made for your particular Spiritual journey. If it is not, you are going to take a long time getting to where you want to go. All of the false dogma, all of the fluffy and unsubstantiated New Age inventions, all of those books and seminars, are no more than detours along the way.

If there is anything the Bliss-Parsons Institute wishes to teach, it is the straight, narrow, short and efficient path that leads to RESULTS. Because, remember, this is not about belief. It is not about emotions or superstition. It is about EXPERIENCE AND PROGRESS. It is about being able to empower your life with the good and the healthy and the prosperous. It is about the ultimate realization that needs to awaken within us all, that we are all CO-CREATORS in a universal web of conscious creation. And when it comes down to attaining that which is absolutely right and perfect for our lives, the sky is not the limit … for there are no limitations at all.